![]() Usually violence occurred inside a family's unit, but sometimes it erupted in front of staff and even police. After a man attacked his female companion, the report states "he busted her lip and dragged her on the floor." A 4-year-old emerged from a unit to tell staff "Daddy was hitting Mommy." A woman slapped her partner in the face as he held their 7-month-old infant. He was ordered out of the facility.ĭE BLASIO TO PLACE NYC'S AGENCIES FOR THE HOMELESS, WELFARE UNDER ONE COMMISSIONERĭomestic violence was fairly routine. 20 when an eight months pregnant woman told staff her husband was spitting and hitting her in front of their 5-year-old. HELP 1's "critical incident" reports portray a parade of violence there throughout 2015, starting Jan. A security bunker guards the entrance, and the entire compound is ringed by a 10-foot-high steel barred fence. Rattraps line the exterior walls of the buildings. Some window shades are torn, others are replaced by bedsheets. Many of the windows are guarded with bent bars. HELP USA shelters, like others in the city, have faced persistent levels of violence as New York's homeless population has risen to record levels. Nashak noted that HELP 1, Hamilton and Morris are some of the larger shelters in the system, again accounting for a proportional share of "critical incidents" compared with their shelter populations. Three of HELP USA's venues made the list of family shelters with the most critical incidents in the city: HELP 1, with 31, HELP Bronx Morris with 20 and HELP Hamilton with nine. The executive management of HELP USA reviews our policies and procedures to determine whether any changes need to be made to reduce the occurrence of critical incidents going forward." "Our management team at each site reviews each incident, attempts to determine the precipitants, and then assesses whether staff could have done anything to help avoid that incident. "We take each critical incident seriously," Nashak said. HOMELESS MAN SEVERELY INJURES FELLOW BROOKLYN SHELTER RESIDENT WITH METAL PIPE That included eight assaults leading to arrest, four sexual assaults, 10 child abuse/neglect allegations, 12 disputes leading to arrest, 25 incidents of domestic violence and 18 arrests of shelter residents for various off-site criminal incidents. (Ken Murray/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)Īll told, there were 107 critical incidents in HELP shelters in 2015. HELP USA accounts for 6% of the 1,687 critical incidents reported in 2015, and its 3,700 residents make up 6% of the system's 58,000 residents.įamilies living at HELP shelters worry about the number of sex offenders living there. Shelters must report all "critical incidents" of violence, abuse and neglect to the city, and records show HELP USA appears to hold a record of violence proportional to its share of residents. Like all city shelters, HELP USA has faced frustrating challenges, including persistent levels of violence as New York's homeless census has grown to record levels. NUMBER OF HOMELESS FAMILIES AT RECORD LEVELS IN NYC On Friday, HELP USA executive George Nashak wrote in response to questions from The News that a management firm handles day-to-day operations while Cuomo Cole and the board "ensure that the agency has proper policies and procedures related to critical incidents and violations and the infrastructure required to keep our residents safe." Since 2010, it's been awarded $486 million in city contracts and $1.58 million in contracts with the state Office of Children & Family Services and the Office of Temporary and Disability Services, mostly to fund domestic violence programs at HELP's family shelters.Ĭuomo's sister, Maria Cuomo Cole (r.), has served as the group's chairwoman for years. It's taken in some $800 million from the city alone since its inception. HELP USA is funded almost exclusively with government funds. Throughout that time and to date, his sister, Cuomo Cole, has served as HELP USA's board chairwoman. From there he was elected first as state attorney general, then governor. VIOLATIONS AT HOMELESS SHELTERS DROP BY MORE THAN HALFĬuomo used that experience as a springboard to become federal Housing and Urban Development Department secretary in 1997. Based on his pioneering work through HELP, Cuomo was appointed by New York City Mayor David Dinkins in 1991 to lead the New York City Commission on the Homeless." In his website bio, the governor cites HELP USA as the genesis of his career in public service, stating that it "became the nation's largest private provider of transitional housing for the homeless. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)īelinsky had to step down in 2011 after his $500,000 salary became public at a time when a Cuomo-appointed task force was looking at excessive compensation at charities. ![]() HELP 1 homeless shelter looks like a prison from the outside.
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